Dive Brief:

• President-elect Donald Trump has nominated retired neurosurgeon and one-time presidential candidate Ben Carson to the cabinet position of secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, The New York Times reported.

• Carson, if confirmed by the Senate to take the post, will lead the $47 billion, 8,000-employee federal agency, whose programs support five million low-income families through rental assistance and other programs.

• Born in Detroit, Carson attended Yale University and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, in Maryland, from 1984 to 2013. Carson announced his intention to seek the Republican presidential nomination in May 2015 but suspended his campaign in March 2016.

Dive Insight:

Trump’s pick for HUD secretary is unconventional, at best. Previous individuals to hold the post have had some background in governance, housing or both. The current secretary, Julian Castro, was the mayor of San Antonio prior to his nomination by President Barack Obama in 2014. His predecessor, Shaun Donovan, served as the commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where his efforts included implementing the largest municipal-level affordable housing program in history, before filling the post of HUD secretary from 2009 to 2014.

Meanwhile, Carson lacks similar experience, instead citing at various points his upbringing in inner-city Detroit and career as a physician in Baltimore for honing his understanding of the needs of low-income communities. Previously offered the post of secretary of Health and Human Services, Carson declined, citing, an adviser told The Hill, that "he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency."

Carson has been a critic of government-backed housing initiatives — the programs run by the department he is set to lead — in particular rules announced this summer intending to clarify and bolster the enforcement mechanisms of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. In the course of his presidential campaign, Carson touted community-oriented efforts at elevating individuals from poverty rather than federal government-backed programs, according to The Times.

The country faces a critical shortage of affordable housing inventory, and high prices and tight supply nationally, particularly in urban centers where renewed job growth is attracting new residents and driving the cost of market-rate housing ever higher. In addition to the announcement of the Obama Administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rules this summer, cities and local organizations have been tackling ways to deliver more affordable housing units.

In a statement Monday, the National Association of Home Builders called Carson a "thoughtful leader who is sure to assemble a professional team of policy experts and be a great spokesperson for housing." It continued: "[the] NAHB looks forward to working with Dr. Carson to promote pro-housing policies that support homeownership, provide rental housing opportunities for low- and middle-income households, and remove regulatory barriers that are needlessly raising housing costs for hard-working American families."

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